Here's the second part of the first 'episode.' That is what I'm calling the stories in this.
I do not own Marvel. But Heather is the OC that I have created with the God given talent that is writing.
Enjoy!
3rd POV
Heather puts on her backpack and secures the strap that goes across her chest. It holds her supper, rope, spare clothes, a flashlight, and a book. 'Hiking trail, here I come,' Heather says, ready to go into the outdoors.
She walks down the stairs. Steve and Sam are waiting for her. "Ready to go?" Steve asks. Heather nods, eager. "Alright."
They exit the house and start to the tree line. When the enter the trail, Steve stays in front and Heather and Sam trek behind him. The trail is a little muddy and the mid morning air holds a dewey musk to it.
And Heather loves every moment of it. They reach a more dry stretch of the trail and Heather feels restricted by having to walk behind Steve. "Can you go a little faster Steve?" She asks. She doesn't wait for him to reply and leaps to a tree trunk, then redirects herself back to the trail. She lands in front of him and starts going at her own pace.
"Heather careful," Steve says, "it's still slippery." Heather leaps over rocks and her feet almost dance as she goes up the trail. She reaches the base of the mountain, where the area starts to get more rocky and has less trees. Heather stops and waits for the other two, who are climbing at their own pace.
When the reach her, she starts up again, and soon she's barely in their line of sight. Steve sighs, watching her. "I thought you said this would be relaxing," Sam states behind him, amused.
"I just don't want her to get hurt," Steve says. The trail had taken a more rocky appearance and Heather had accepted the challenge. They hear Heather chuckling from around the corner, about something they can't see. "I'm just happy she isn't weighed down by the mission, with her family and everything a few days ago. It was really hard on her to leave."
Heather stops at an outcrop, looking out at how far they've come. She can see a vast horizon, above the treetops. She just stands there and takes it all in, the wind brushing along her neck and cheeks.
"Heather, you coming?" Heather turns around, where Sam is waiting farther along the trail. She nods and he lets her step in front of him. She goes slower, because they are right next to the edge. Then Steve stops at where the trail morphs into a steep rock cliff with a vertical wall to their left.
"Step carefully," he tells them, mainly to Heather. He goes forward, his back to the wall and toes pointing at the open space. Heather and Sam mimic him, keeping their hands on the wall behind them. Heather's foot hits a loose rock and it tumbles down the cliff below them.
The rock's impact on the surface causes Steve to look down. Suddenly, the tan rock and green trees that dot the area become snowy white. The wind is whipping passed his face, biting at his skin. The rock becomes metal as he tightens his grip. "AHHhhhhh….!" Bucky flails to grab hold of anything, but all there is near him is air.
"Steve!" Steve looks up. It's warm. It's bright. There's rock under his feet. Sam and Heather are looking at him, unable to continue moving because he stopped. "You alright?" Heather asks. Steve takes a deep breath.
"Yeah, let's keep going." Heather looks back at Sam as Steve takes another step. They both know that he's lying.
After several more hours and a few quick breaks, they arrive at a large pool amid huge flat rocks. It's lined with a thick crescent of trees to the North and a vast view of the horizon to the South.
Heather sits down and takes off her backpack on a rock of her choosing. She takes out her sandwich and thermos of milk and starts to eat. She looks up between slow bites to watch the sun set.
Steve and Sam stay on the East side of the pool, where the trail originates. "Steve," Sam says, "you want to tell me what happened at the cliff?" He had waited until they were out of earshot from Heather, so Steve would be more comfortable with talking.
"Sam I don't-" He sees the look Sam is giving him.
"I know the look when PTSD kicks in," Sam states, "I worked at the VA, remember?"
Steve sighs, "..For a moment, just a moment, I saw Buck. He fell again, right before me. It was like I was back on the train.." Sam puts a hand on Steve's shoulder and they are silent a moment, remembering both of their best friends.
"We'll find him," Sam says firmly.
"..Let's find another way down tomorrow. I don't think it'll be safe going back the other way."
"Wait, we're staying the night?" Heather asks. They look up. She's still sitting on her rock, a good twenty meters away.
"Yep," Sam says to her. Heather beams and then leans back so she can look at the stars as they slowly come out from under the darkening red and purple sky.
Steve realizes that she had overheard their conversation. Sam pats his shoulder again and then sits next to Heather to look at the stars. Steve walks over as well and takes out his own food.
Heather looks at Steve a moment. She had heard their conversation. She decides to not say anything about what he said. It isn't her business and Sam would be able to help Steve more than she could.
"Are you going to be okay with sleeping on rocks, Heather?" Sam states.
"Oh yeah," Heather says, brushing off the comment, "I may not be a veteran, but I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?" Sam presses.
"Yeah," Heather states, getting into a comfortable position with her arm curled under her head, "I've fallen asleep on hay bales in the barn before. This is nothing."
The men finally finish their supper and go to sleep as well. But Heather can't. She was being a little arrogant about being able to sleep on solid rock. She tries to stay as still as possible, but eventually, she has to fidget to find a better position.
'There..' she tells herself. But a few minutes later, she finds she can't sleep, so she adjusts again. After the third time fidgeting, she hears snickering behind her. Heather turns onto her back and Sam is smirking in his sleep.
Steve is faced away from her on a nearby rock, but he no doubt has the same smile on his face. He was the one to quietly snigger. Heather rolls her eyes and lays back down, determined to actually sleep.
Steve wakes up to a large splash. He sits up straight and looks around. There is a distortion in the pool behind him. Ripples come from a center point. He looks to his right and Sam is asleep. But Heather is no where to be seen. The sun is barely over the horizon, the golden red rays peaking through the trees to the East.
"Heather?" Steve asks, noticing more clearly that Heather is not at her backpack. Steve stands up and looks around again, frantic.
"What's wrong..?" Sam groans. Steve turns and looks at his friend as he stands up, too, rubbing his eyes.
Just then, the water behind them moves again. Steve whips his head around and sees Heather's head and shoulders peeping out of the water, near the center of the pool. "I really should have brought a timer!" She yells to them, catching her breath, "I can really hold my breath now!"
"Heather!" Steve says, relaxing, "You scared me! Don't disappear like that!"
"Sorry," she says as she starts to swim back. "The water looked refreshing." She climbs out of the pool wearing her deep blue and white swimsuit.
"When'd you change?" Sam asks.
"I wore it during the hike, in case we found water. And look at that," Heather says, turning around, "water."
"I take it you slept well?" Sam asks, "You've got a lot of energy for the morning." Both of the veterans are still waking up, since Steve's worried adrenaline has worn off after Heather resurfaced.
"Must be the effect nature has on me," Heather shrugs, grinning. She starts wringing her hair out, "Fresh air does wonders, you know." They all sit down for breakfast, which Steve was smart enough to pack for the unknowing teen.
The sun rises, brightening the world around them. Steve looks out at the horizon, which is just as breathtaking as the day before.
"So.." Heather asks between bites, "how long... will we... be up here.."
"Another hour," Sam says casually.
Heather immediately inhales the rest of her food and sprints back to the water. She steps off the rock at the very edge, flips a few times, and nose dives into the deep part of the pool.
Sam looks at Steve, "She doesn't like sitting still, does she?"
"No she doesn't," Steve chuckles.
"She isn't going to pass me in jogging, is she?" Sam inquires.
Before Steve can answer, Heather resurfaces again. "Are you two going to sit on your butts all day!?" She calls out while treading water.
Sam turns back to her. "How's the water?" He asks.
Heather smiles and somersaults back under. Sam chuckles and stands up. He walks over to the water, shrugging off his shirt.
Steve takes out a comm. "Any need to come back early?" He asks, just in case.
He only has to listen to a second of static before Natasha's voice comes through, "Relax and have fun, Steve. Stop worrying." He puts away the comm and looks back at the pair in the water.
Sam is climbing up the rock face to the West, which Heather is positioned above him on a ledge. But he loses his grip and tumbles into the water, making a huge splash. Heather sees Steve watching.
"I'm the queen of the pool!" Heather teases, "And there's nothin' you peasants can do about it!" She says, grinning. Steve chuckles, ducking his head. Then he stands up, accepting her challenge.
I said they would go to the mountains, so they went up to the mountains.
It's unclear when I'll write the next one, but I have, like, 18 outlined. So it's just a matter of if I feel like writing them out.
But I have a question..
Who wants me to start working on Donnie's Tsuma story before summer?
R&R!
~CtW